DRY ICE-Q 1K Molecular Spin Qubits
The DRY ICE-Q 1K Molecular Spin Qubit cryostat is a compact, cryogen-free platform designed for the production of slow, high flux molecular beams.
Optimised for laser ablation buffer gas sources. It provides the cooling power, access, and stability required for modern experiments in cold molecule physics, precision measurement, and quantum technologies.
The system is designed for stable experimental operation at or below 1.65K under high experimental heat load, enabling efficient thermalisation and extraction of slow molecular beams for downstream manipulation and trapping.
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Standard Pumping Configuration |
Turbo-Pumping Configuration |
High-throughout Pumping Configuration |
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| Temperature range | 1.1K to 325K | 0.8K to 325K | 0.8K to 325K | |
| Continuous Base Temperature | 1.3K | 0.8K | 0.8K | |
| Single Shot Base Temperature | 1.1K | 0.73K | 0.73K* | |
| Single Shot Hold Time | >16 hours* | |||
| Cooling Power | 80mW @ 1.4K, 300mW @ 1.65K* | 30mW @ 1.0K, 300mW @ 1.65K* | 100-300mW @1.0K* | |
| Temperature Stability | ± 0.5mK at 1.3K† | |||
| Vibration at Sample | ± 5µm* (can be reduced with anti-vibration options) | |||
| System Architecture | Compact cube design, modular with 50K, 4K and cold (1K) platforms | |||
| Sample Environment | Vacuum or exchange gas | |||
| Sample Space | 320mm x 320mm sample plate H: 300mm (custom sizes available). Universal threaded mounting holes on plates available | |||
| Experimental Access | Removable side and bottom panels. Mounting frame for easy bottom access available | |||
| Access to Sample Space | Direct access to buffer gas cells and sorption material on shields | |||
| Cooldown Time | 16 hours | |||
| Compressor | Air or water-cooled options available | |||
* Certain specifications may vary depending on system configuration.
‡ All Specifications assume 1.8W RDE- 418D4 Coldhead (Other CH options available)
† Optimised Conditions will vary under higher heatloads and temperatures
- Cold and ultra-cold molecule production
- Laser slowing and magneto-optical trapping
- Precision spectroscopy and fundamental physics measurements
- Molecular beam and collision studies
- Molecular qubit research
Imperial College London, Blackett Lab
Simeng Li - Jan, 2026
The Lattice eEDM project is the third generation experiment for measuring the electron electric dipole moment (eEDM) to a better precision at Centre for Cold Matter, Imperial College London. Improving measurement sensitivity can both provide a stringent test of the Standard Model (SM) and help discriminate between competing beyond-SM theories. Our aim is to improve the precision by 10-fold from the current record.
The 1K cryostat produced by ICE Oxford is a critical component in our experiment. We use a cryogenic buffer gas source to produce the molecules we need -- ytterbium fluoride (YbF). To load them into a trap, the molecules need to be slowed. If the molecules have lower velocity to start with, it's easier to slow and trap them, especially for heavy molecules such as YbF. One of the main factors that determines the molecule velocity is the temperature of the source. With the 1K cryostat, we can produce molecules of 80 m/s mean velocity using a single stage cell, while with a 4K cryostat it's typically 150 m/s. At best performance we can have molecules at 50 m/s mean velocity with a modified cell design. This is essential for us to slow the molecules down sufficiently (<10 m/s) so they can be trapped.
